Towards a status quo or a massive invasion? Vladimir Putin recognized on Tuesday February 22 the sovereignty of the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine over all of the regions of Lugansk and Donetsk, part of which is still under the control of Kiev. According to the Russian president, the possible entry of the Russian army into Ukrainian territory will depend on the situation “in the field”. But US President Joe Biden has denounced “the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine”. On Wednesday, Ukraine announced the mobilization of army reservists.
In order to better understand the situation and its prospects for development, franceinfo invites Anna Colin Lebedev, Wednesday February 23 from 10 a.m. A lecturer in political science at the University of Paris Nanterre, she is a specialist in post-Soviet societies and has notably studied the sociology of Donbass fighters. You can question him and find all his answers to your questions in this live.
Sanctions against Russia. The 27 member states of the European Union are “unanimously agreed on a first package of sanctions”, announced Tuesday the head of French diplomacy Jean-Yves Le Drian. These sanctions “will hurt Russia very badly”, added the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell. The United States has also announced its own measures.
One soldier killed and six injured in Ukraine. These soldiers were killed during separatist bombings in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian army announced. In 2021, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 66 soldiers were killed in the two self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
Kiev asks for guarantees from the West. Ukraine has urged its allies to provide it with more weapons and to give it guarantees on future membership of the European Union to support it against Russia. “We will mobilize the whole world to obtain everything we need to strengthen our defense capacity”the Ukrainian foreign minister said on Tuesday.
Suspension of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Germany ended up giving in on Tuesday by suspending the commissioning of the new gas pipeline which should link Russia to its territory, following Moscow’s recognition of the independence of the two Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk.